Top 20 Most Dangerous Cars To Drive

[Rambit]

Here's an interesting study of the top 20 vehicles to avoid if you want to stay alive. Lots of Japanese & Korean cars make this list, but some domestics didn't fair well either including the PT Cruiser, Dodge Dakota and Jeep Liberty. Some are considered unsafe because they don't offer stability control, side curtain air bags or ABS as standard equipment.

I'll stick to my large North American 4 door sedan thanks!

1. Buick Rendezvous

2. Ford Ranger/Mazda B-Series

3. Nissan Frontier

4. Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner

5. Toyota Yaris

6. Hyundai Accent

7. Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe

8. Kia Rio

9. Chevrolet Aveo

10. Suzuki Reno/Forenza

11. Ford Focus

12. Jeep Liberty

13. Dodge Dakota

14. Chevrolet Cobalt/Pontiac G5

15. Nissan Xterra

16. Saturn ION

17. Chrysler PT Cruiser

18. Honda S2000

19. Toyota Scion tC

20. Mazda3

STORY HERE

SLIDESHOW HERE

Bernie

[3733H]

I can't even picture a lot of those cars in my head,,,,,so I guess, who caaares!! lol
Thanks for the info. I'll stick to my full size sedan too

[oldmac1]

Uh oh, I just picked up a Jeep Liberty for the OL. Guess I had better tell her to slow down, yeah, like she'll listen to me.

[srt8man]

I don't think there are any full-size sedans in that list. I've always thought that full-size sedans are among the safest vehicles to drive, and I think that list backs up my belief.

According to several different sites, including motortrend, the Chrysler 300 gets 5 of 5 stars for frontal impact and 4 of 5 for side impact. I'm not sure how the tiny Toyota Prius gets 4 of 5 for frontal impact and 5 of 5 for side impact. Even the Honda Civic matches the 300s safety ratings, according to motortrend.

Does anyone know how they rate the safety of these cars? Does a different standard apply to smaller cars or are certain small cars like the Honda Civic really as safe as a full size Chrysler 300?

[RTP SRT8]

I'm surprised that the Jeep Liberty turned out to be such a pig. I have heard nothing but negatives in all the write-ups.
I thought the Jeep was the best 4x4 system out there. I think they tried to get into the sub suv market and thats when things went bad. Why even make a Liberty?
The Grand Cherokee and Wrangler have been very good trucks for a long time and have been renowned for their 4x4 proweses.
I had a Grand Cherokee Limited with a 5.9 liter and it was the fastest truck with 4x4 that I have owned. And on top of that it was a luxury car too.
Jeep, Chrysler, get back with the program and dump the losers. Do what you do best and quit trying to be a Hyuundai.

[Stockholm 300C]

50-50 USA and Asia. No European cars. Are we really that dense here in the states?

[OoTLink]

That info is outdated, for sure! First off, the article is over a year old - the Liberty was changed a lot and is much safer, the info for the Dakota was likely outdated when *that* article was posted as all of the safety features are available.. likewise the Focus got refreshed, and Ford generally has top safety picks on IIHS.

Where Chrysler goes wrong is making safety features optional - who the hell was the idiot that decided that 300s shouldn't come with side airbags standard? Or the low end models not having ESP or even ABS - it's @#%ing 2008. Traction control and ABS were options on our 95 Mystique (and ours.. doesn't have either XD) ... but 14 years later that shouldn't be an option, it should be standard.

Sometimes even the IIHS tests are flawed, before the 2007 tests, the Crown Vic was rated up top in side impact tests, what changed? The new side impact sled *just happened* to clear the side frame rails and bam, it went from having a G rating to a P rating. XD

[300C_Chris]

The best safety device is the driver.

[Mr. iNCREDIBLE]

i can see that.. put all those sardine cans on the same roads as all these monster SUV's and yep, you gonna die..

[robaustin]

Originally Posted by srt8man

I don't think there are any full-size sedans in that list. I've always thought that full-size sedans are among the safest vehicles to drive, and I think that list backs up my belief.

According to several different sites, including motortrend, the Chrysler 300 gets 5 of 5 stars for frontal impact and 4 of 5 for side impact. I'm not sure how the tiny Toyota Prius gets 4 of 5 for frontal impact and 5 of 5 for side impact. Even the Honda Civic matches the 300s safety ratings, according to motortrend.

Does anyone know how they rate the safety of these cars? Does a different standard apply to smaller cars or are certain small cars like the Honda Civic really as safe as a full size Chrysler 300?

Here is the main difference as I see it. They slam the 4,000# sedan and the 2,500# compact car into a fixed wall and check the damage to the crash test dummies. But what happens in the real world when the 4,000# sedan collides with the 2,500# compact car. Obviously, the compact car gets punted for a field goal. The lesson is, mass rules.